Dr. Pauly, of the #1 World Series of Poker Blog, Tao of Poker, files this final table report from the WPT $25K Championship at the Bellagio's 5 Star World Poker Classic...Flipchip photos--Ed.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

639 players bought in for $25K each at the Bellagio for the 2007 WPT Championships. After seven tough days of poker, a champion was finally crowned and it could not happen to a nicer guy. Carlos Mortensen make history by winning a single tournament. He became the all-time tournament money winner at the Bellagio with over $5M in winnings. He became the first player to win a WPT World Championship and a WSOP Main Event. And he mounted one of the greatest comebacks at any WPT final table. Congrats to Carlos Mortensen on a job well done.

More after the jump...

Dr. Pauly, of the #1 World Series of Poker Blog, Tao of Poker, files his daily report from the WPT $25K Championship at the Bellagio's 5 Star World Poker Classic...Flipchip photos--Ed.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Day 5 of the WPT Championships at the Bellagio began with 27 players who were all hoping to survive the day and advance to the final TV table. With a $4 million first place prize at stake, the mood was intense as the last 27 players slugged it out in the longest day of action so far at the WPT Championships. Paul Lee from Los Angeles, CA started the day as the chipleader while Phil Hellmuth and Carlos Mortensen were chasing history. A WSOP Main Event winner has never won a WPT World Championship. Mortensen and Hellmuth were the two best players left in the mix, but Hellmuth busted out in 18th place as Mortensen's chance is still alive as he advanced to the final TV table.

Dr. Pauly, of the #1 World Series of Poker Blog, Tao of Poker, files his daily report from the WPT $25K Championship at the Bellagio's 5 Star World Poker Classic...Flipchip photos--Ed.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

In the fastest day of the WPT Championship, action went from 54 to 27 players in less than three hours of play. In that time frame, Phil Hellmuth lost the chiplead and several big names hit the rail including Patrik Antonius, Lyle Berman, Danny Alaei, Bill Gazes, Zee Justin, and Mark Gregorich.

More after the jump...

Dr. Pauly, of the #1 World Series of Poker Blog, Tao of Poker, files his daily report from the WPT $25K Championship at the Bellagio's 5 Star World Poker Classic...Flipchip photos--Ed.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

212 players began Day 3 of the WPT Championship at the Bellagio. There was a $4 million first place prize at stake as the money bubble broke late in the evening. And that did not slowdown the eliminations. The clock was stopped with 11 minutes to go in the last scheduled level of play with 54 players remaining. With several big pros advancing to Day 3, there was a good chance that the eventual final table would be a star-studded affair.

More after the jump...

Dr. Pauly's daily report from the WPT $25K Championship at the Bellagio's 5 Star World Poker Classic...Flipchip photos--Ed.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

479 poker players woke up on Monday morning hoping to survive the day on their quest for almost $4 million at the Bellagio. Standing in their way were some of the best players in the world which included hundreds of Las Vegas sharks and online poker gurus. When the day was over, only half the field remained to fight again on Tuesday.

More news from the Bellagio Five Star after the jump...

Dr. Pauly's daily report from the WPT Championship $25K final event of the Bellagio's 5 Star World Poker Classic with Flipchip photos--Ed.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Action continued at the Bellagio for Day 1b of the WPT Championships. The second flight included 336 players for a total number of 640 entrants. That's a record number of players for the WPT Championships along with a record setting prize pool of close to $15.5 million. Out of that number, $3.97 million is going to the first place winner. The top 100 places will make the money.

Much more after the jump...

Flipchip and I returned to the historical Fontana Room at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas where the final table of the latest World Poker Tour event took place and was taped for the upcoming season of the World Poker Tour. The buy-in for the final table of the Five Diamond Poker Classic main event was $15,000 and 555 players began on Monday. Five days later, we're down to six players including the legendary Doyle Brunson, the always entertaining Phil Laak, Joanne "J.J." Liu, the best player in Europe in Patrik Antonius, internet player Darrell Dicken, and Rehne Pedersen of Denmark.

Tickets were in such high demand that rumors circulated that people were scalping seats for over $1K because everyone wanted to see the Unabomber take on Doyle Brunson at the final table. Plus Joanne Liu was chasing history in an attempt to become the first female to ever win a WPT event. There are plenty of big time pros in the audience including Billy Baxter, Marcel Luske, Chau Giang, Todd Brunson, Johnny Chan, Joe Hachem, Gus Hansen, Jen Harman, Tom McEvoy, The Grinder, and Marco Traniello.

Here were the payouts for the final TV table:

1. $2,078,185
2. $1,046,470
3. $563,485
4. $362,140
5. $241,495
6. $160,995

Here's the final table seating including chip counts courtesy of Poker Wire:

Seat 1: Darrell Dicken $3.510M
Seat 2: Patrick Antonius $1.755M
Seat 3: Rehne Pedersen $3.225M
Seat 4: Joanne "J.J." Liu $3.63M=chipleader
Seat 5: Phil "The Unabomber" Laak $2.505M
Seat 6: Doyle Brunson $2.025M

During the first orbit Joanne Liu moves all in over the top of Phil Laak. He quickly folded and offered Liu $4 to see her hand. Liu told him that he needed to wait to see it on TV. By the end of the first hour of play, Doyle Brunson was the short stack with $1M and Joanne remained the chipleader with over $4M. But the biggest mover was Patrik Antonius, who took down two big pots. One was over 900K and the other was over $1.5M.

Phil Laak was the first player busted. He ran into Patrik Antonius' A-A. Patrik raised and Laak moved all in with K-3o. Patrik quickly called and his hand held up despite Laak flopping a pair and turning a gutshot straight draw. Phil Laak finished in 6th place and won $160,995. Antonius took over the chip lead with $6M.

Doyle Brunson doubled up at the right time when he moved all in with A-K and Darrell Dicken called with A-J. Brunson's Big Slick held up. Brunson then had over $3M in chips and was int he middle of the pack after he crippled Dicken.

Darrell Dicken came from behind and doubled up against Rehne Pedersen. Dicken had J-10 and Pederson had A-Q. Dicken flopped a ten and his hand held up. Pedersen slipped to the short stack with just $1.1M. Pedersen got his revenge a few hands later when he doubled through Darrell Dicken's Q-J versus his A-J when he flopped an ace. Dicken would be eliminated when his 4-4 lost a race to Patrik Antonius' A-J when Antonius flopped a Jack. Dicken won $241,495 for 5th place. Antonius' stack hovered around $8M.

Rehne Pedersen doubled up against Joanne Liu. He had been playing tight all night long when he moved all in with K-K. Liu called with 4-4 and her hand did not improve. On a flop of 8-4-2, Brunson moved all in. Antonius called with 9-9. Brunson paired his kicker on the turn, but that gave Antonius a flush draw. The river didn't help Antonius and Brunson's two pair held up. He doubled up and had almost $5M in chips.

Joanne Liu moved all in with A-3. She was up against Patrik Antonius' A-10s. Her hand did not improve and she was eliminated in 4th place. She won $362,140 and missed her shot at becoming the first female to ever win a WPT event.

Doyle Brunson took over the chip lead after his 3-3 held up against Patrik Antonius' A-2. He rivered a full house to cripple the young Antonius. With three players remaining, Brunson had a 2 to 1 chip advantage over Patrik Antonius $4.3M and Pedersen's $3.5M. He had more chips than both his opponents combined. His lead would dwindle after he doubled up Rehne Pedersen. Brunson's A-7 lost to Pedersen's 2-2. Brunson lost some more chips when he moved all in with A-6 and Patrik Antonius called with A-9. They both flopped and Ace but Antonius' hand held up. The young man from Finland doubled up against Texas Dolly. With a shortstack, Brunson moved all in with K-J and Rehne Pedersen quickly called with K-K. On the turn, Doyle picked up an open ended straight draw but he didn't improve on the river. Doyle Brunson was eliminated in 3rd place. He won $563,485.

When play reached heads up, Rehne Pedersen had $9.39M to Patrik Antonius $8.27M. It was the battle of Northern Europe with Pedersen representing Denmark and Antonius representing Finland. During the money presentation one of the Bellagio girls dropped some of the cash off her tray and landed right in front of Flipchip and me. They had to do a second take. Gus Hansen made a rare appearance in the Fontana Room and gave some encouraging words to his fellow countryman Rehne Pedersen and to Patrik Antonius who he battled it out with at the final table in Barcelona a few months ago.

Rehne Pedersen moved into the chiplead 10M to 7M when he took down a pot on the flop. Antonius even out things but lost the biggest hand of the tournament when he was a huge favorite. Both players were all in pre-flop. Patrik Antonius had As-Ks and Rehne Pedersen showed Ad-4d. The flop was 5-6-7 and Pedersen caught an amazing board. The turn was a 3s and he turned a straight, but that gave Antonius a flush draw. It didn't hit and Antonius was crippled. With just $150K left, on the very next hand Antonius was all-in with Ks-7s. Pedersen had 8-8 and his hand held up. Pedersen won $2,078,185 and a $25K seat in the WPT Championships in April. Antonius won $1,046,470 for second place.

When Mike Sexton asked Pedersen how he felt after his massive come from behind win, the quiet Dane said, "I don't know what to say except I just won $2 million." Not too bad for someone who won a $100 satellite.

Congrats to Rehne Pedersen and to Patrik Antonius for playing excellent poker all week long. Also special congrats goes out to Texas Dolly himself who took on two young guns who were almost 1/3 his age. This marks the final tournament that both Flipchip and I will cover in 2005. Have a great holidays and we'll see you in 2006!

Tao of Pauly...http://mcgrupp.blogspot.com
Truckin'...http://mcgtruckin.blogspot.com
Tao of Poker...http://taopoker.blogspot.com

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."-Hunter S. Thompson

Dr. Pauly is at the Bellagio with camera and laptop for tonight's Fourth Annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic WPT Championship. He will be live blogging the event at his website, TaoPoker.blogspot.com, beginning at 7:00PM PST, 10:00PM for the East Coast. Check it out-FlipChip

The final table for the 2005 Fourth Annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic is set with the top six finishers in the $15,000 + $500 buy-in WPT sanctioned Championship Event. The survivors from the 555 entrants that began on Monday will gather at 7:00PM Friday evening to determine the champion. The table will seat the following players, listed according to seat assignment with hometown and chip count:

1. Darrell Dicken, Waterloo, IA, $3,510,000
2. Patrick Antonius, Helsinki, Sweden, $1,755,000
3. Rehne Pedersen, Aalvong, Denmark, $3,225,000
4. Joanne 'J.J.' Liu, Palo Alto, CA, $3,630,000
5. Phil 'Unabomber' Laak, Los Angeles, CA, $2,505,000
6. Doyle Brunson, Las Vegas, NV, $2,025,000

The six finalist include two great European players, Rehne Pedersen and Patrik Antonius. Although Patrik had been the tournament chip leader thoughout the event he suffered some devastating hands on day #4 and comes into tonight's final table as the short stack. The always entertaining Phil "Unabomber" Laak will be in top form with plenty of chips to back up his often unpredictable aggressive style of play. The crowd's favorite will undoubtedly be the reining Godfather of poker, Doyle Brunson. The grand master of the green felt may be adding another major championship to his long list of victories that includes a record ten World Series of Poker championships. Darrell Dicken, fabled Internet player from Iowa, is sitting in the second spot on the chip list after cashing three times during the WSOP this past summer.

The chip leader is none other than Joanne 'JJ' Liu of Palo Alto, California. JJ made her first final table in a major poker event during the 1996 WSOP. Since then she has cashed in more than three dozen tournaments and is guaranteed to have her best money finish to date tonight since even sixth place pays $160,995. JJ's previous personal best cash was $85K.

The players are vying for a purse of $8,075,250. The winner will take home $2,078,185 in cash, a $25,000 + $500 seat in the 2006 WPT Championship scheduled for April 18 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Tonight's second place finisher also becomes a millionaire with $1,046,470 in prize money. The action begins at 7:00PM in the Fontana Room at the Bellagio Resort. The final table will be filmed for later broadcast on the Travel Channel's WPT Series.

Day 3 of the Five Diamond Classic main event continued at the Bellagio Casino. 555 players bought in on Monday for $15K each with everyone gunning for the $2M first place prize. When action began on Wednesday 121 players remained. The top 100 players made the money. Patrik Antonius began Day 3 as the chipleader. By the time action was halted, 26 players were left and Antonius slipped to 5th place in chips. Joanne "J.J." Liu is currently sitting on the big stack with almost $2 million in chips. Both Doyle Brunson and Joe Cassidy have stacks well over $1 million.

Here are the current chipleaders courtesy of Poker Wire:
1 Joanne Liu $1.98M
2 Rehne Pedersen $1.46M
3 Joe Cassidy $1.207M
4 Bengt Sonnert $1.194M
5 Patrik Antonius $ 1.121M
6 Doyle Brunson $ 1.11M
7 Ron Kirk $873K
8 James Van Alstyne $831K
9 Brad "The Poker Assasin" Booth $666K
10 Mike Gracz $577K
11 Jeff Littlefield $566K
12 Eskimo Clark $479K
13 Peter Costa $476K
14 Phil Laak $475K
15 Barny Boatman $446K
16 Adam Friedman $419K
17 Dwayne Moyers $392K
18 Rod Hurlbut $323K
19 Dennis Waterman $316K
20 Darrell Dicken $316K
21 Michael Yoshino $312K
22 Jeff Rine $288K
23 Brian Lamkin $241K
24 Jeff King $238,000
25 David Levi $204K
26 Woody Van Stratum $131K

Marco Traniello was busted when his 10-10 ran into the Hilton Sisters. He finished in 30th place. Joe Sebok took 31st place when his 5-5 ran into trip 8s. Barry Greenstien finished in 38th place. Alan Goehring was busted in 52nd place. Other notable money finishers included Denis Ethier, Dewey Tomko, Kenna James, Martin de Knijf, Bruno Fitoussi, David Plastik, and John Gale. Clonie Gowen was busted just before the bubble along with actor Oliver Hudson, who is also the son of actress Goldie Hawn.

With several top names still left like Doyle Brunson, Phil Laak, Barny Boatman, Mike Gracz, Eskimo Clark, and David Levi, there is going to be a lot of exciting poker on Thursday.
Action will resume at noon and won't stop until 6 players remain. The final table will be taped on Friday.

The second Day of the Bellagio's Five Diamond Classic main event ended on Tuesday night with one of Europe's hottest young guns, Patrik Antonius from Finland in the chiplead for the second consecutive day. In the past few months, Antonius took third place at the EPT Barcelona Open, won the EPT Austria event in Baden, and won the Scandinavian Poker Championships. He's looking to make his first WPT final table.

The buy-in was $15,000 + $300 and 555 players entered the last WPT event in 2005. About 350 players began Day 2 and only 121 remain. Several big guns are sitting in the Top 10 in chips including Doyle Brunson and The Unabomber.

Here are the Top 10 chipleaders courtesy of Poker Wire:

1 Patrik Antonius $644,700
2 Darrell Dicken $542,200
3 Alan Goehring $434,600
4 Doyle Brunson $418,000
5 Phil "The Unabomber" Laak $364,100
6 Barny Boatman $330,500
7 Ron Kirk $321,900
8 Jeff Littlefield $307,500
9 Don Zewin $305,300
10 Jeff Rine $299,000

There were plenty of top names still remaining such as Denis Ethier, Joe Sebok, Eskimo Clark, Bruno Fitoussi, Marco Traniello, Mike Gracz, John D'Agostino, David 'The Dragon' Pham, Dewey Tomko, Barry Greenstein, Clonie Gowen, Peter Costa, Joe Cassidy, Fabrice Soulier, David Levi, Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy, Bill Edler, David Plastik, Oliver Hudson, Martin de Knijff, James Van Alstyne, Maureen Feduniak, John Gale, Davood Mehrmand, and Kenna James.

The Grinder began Day 2 second in chips and ended up getting busted. Other notable eliminations on Day 2 included: Liz Lieu, Mike Wattel, Erick Lindgren, Max Pescatori, Layne Flack, Thor Hansen, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Mark Seif, Joe Hachem, David Singer, Scotty Nguyen, Freddy Deeb, Hoyt Corkins, Erik Seidel, Chau Giang, Cyndy Violette, John Juanda, and Paul Darden.

Action resumes at Noon on Wednesday in the Fontana Room.

Nick Schulman wins Foxwoods!

The final table of the WPT World Poker Finals was held Friday at Foxwoods, the largest casino in the world, which is nestled in the hills of Western Connecticut. That was the site where history was made when Nick "Takeover" Schulman became the youngest player to ever win a WPT title. He outlasted a field of 783 players and beat out a final table that featured some top pros such as BIll Gazes, Allen Cunningham, and WPT founder Lyle Berman.

Here are some quick stats:
Entrants: 783
Buy-in: $10,000
Chipleader: Nick Schulman $3.5M
Average Stack: $1.3M

Chip Counts:
1. Nick Schulman (New York City) $3.502M
2. Anthony "Tony" Licastro (Long Valley, New Jersey) $1.412M
3. Allen Cunningham (Las Vegas, NV) $795K
4. Lenny Cortellino (Lewiston, Maine) $773K
5. Bill Gazes (Old Westbury, NY) $693K
6. Lyle Berman (Las Vegas, NV) $659K

Payouts:
1st $2,142,000 + $25K Seat in the WPT Championships at the Bellagio
2nd $1,035,000
3rd $759,000
4th $483,000
5th $345,000
6th $276,000

Lyle Berman with Mike Sexton

When the final table began, Nick Schulman had more than a 2 to 1 chiplead over second place Tony Licastro. He is just 21 and had a huge run late in Day 4 to take over the chip lead. Both Bill Gazes and Allen Cunningham have been at WPT final tables. Lenny Cortellino won a $5K event last week and won the World Poker Finals Player of the Year. Tony Licastro cashed in a WSOP event this year and also finished 11th at the WSOP Circuit in San Diego.

Cards are in the air at 4:25pm. In less than three and a half hours, Nick Schulman would go onto to win his first WPT event. Early on Allen Cunningham made a run picking up a few small pots uncontested and reached the million dollar mark. On the 14th hand, we had our first elimination when Tony Licastro moved all in preflop with 10-10 and Lenny Cortellino called with 8-8. They both flopped sets! Alas stack grew to over $2.1M in chips.

Behind the scenes at Foxwoods

Bill Gazes eventually doubled up against Tony Licastro when his K-K held up against Q-Q. Bill moved up to around a million in chips, but he still trailed the chipleader, Nick who sat on $3.6M. Nick would add some more chips when he busted Lyle Berman in 5th place. Nick had A-K against Berman's A-J. Lyle Berman's hand did not improve and he was eliminated. He won $345K for 5th place. At that point, Nick Schulman had over a 4 to 1 advantage over second place. And he still had $1M chips more than the other three remaining players combined.

With a shortstack, Allen Cunningham moved all in preflop for $970K with J-10 against Nick Schulman's K-K. Cunningham's hand did not improve and he finished in 4th place winning $483K. With three players remain and Nick has well over $5 million in chips. In less than 40 hands, three players were eliminated.

Bill Gazes was the shortstack but doubled up when his 3-3 held up against Tony Liscastro's Ah-Jh. Tony turned a nut flush draw, but it didn't hit. Bill moved up to $945K. Tony slipped to $850K. And Nick ha all the remainder of the chips. A few orbits later, Bill Gazes moved all in with A-A and Tony Licastro called with K-10. Tony flopped a miracle straight when 9-Q-J fell. Bill's aces got cracked and he doubled up Tony. Bill 's stack dropped to $1.1 million and Tony had about the same.

In one of the biggest pot of the day, Nick Schulman raised and Tony Licastro moved all in for over the top of Nick for $1M with A-9. Nick called with A-5s. Tony's hand held up and he doubled up against Nick. Tony has $2.1 to Nick's $4.3M. That was the first big hand that Nick lost at the final table. He had stayed out of trouble and avoided playing big pots and won several small ones until he doubled up Tony.

Nick Schulman eventually busted Bill Gazes in 3rd place. Bill had K-8 and Nick flipped over A-Q. Nick flopped an ace and his hand held up. Bill Gazes won $759K for third place.

Here are some pictures of the money presentation:

Nick had about a 2 to 1 chip lead over Tony Licastro the two began heads up play. On hand #89 and on the fourth hand of heads up play Nick Schulman beat Tony Licastro and picked up his first WPT victory. Nick turned a flush against Tony Licastro's two pair to knock him out in second place. Tony won $1,035,000 for second place and Nick took home $2,142,000 and a $25K Seat in the WPT Championships at the Bellagio next April. Congrats to Nick!

Nick "Takeover" Schulman: 2005 Foxwoods World Poker Finals Champion

See ya in mid-December for the WPT Five DIamond Classic at the Bellagio.

Dr. Pauly is live blogging the World Poker Finals direct from Foxwoods. Check out his live reports beginning around Noon Eastern Time on TaoPoker.com.-Flipchip

Action resumed at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut for Day 3 of the main event of the World Poker Finals. After the first round was broken up into two days, the entire field of the remaining 240 players combined at the start of Day 3.

WPT founder and creator Lyle Berman

Here are some quick stats:

Entrants: 783
Buy in: $10,000
Remaining Players: 240
First Round Overall Chipleader: Lyle Berman with $153K
Prize Pool: $7.855 million
First Place: $2.167 million
Money Winners: Top 120
Current Level: Level 8 blinds $400/800 with $100 antes
Average Stack: $32,625

There were several top pros still remaining like WPT founder and creator Lyle Berman, Mark Seif, Amir Vahedi, Andrew Black, Spiro Mitrokostas, Abraham 'Avi' Gray, Chip Jett, Erik Seidel, Steven Zoine, Minh Nguyen, Hasan Habib, Jean Gaspard, Allen Cunningham, Young Phan, Chris Karagulleyan, John Myung, Timothy Sweeney, David Levi, Arnold Spee, Ted Forrest, Steve Brecher, Paul McKinney, Julian Gardner, Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy, John D'Agostino, Bill Gazes, Tab Duchateau, Dan Heimiller, Marsha Waggoner, David Benyamine, Farzad Bonyadi, Jeff Calkins, Richard Festejo, Minneapolis Jim Meehan, and Donna Blevins.

When the first round ended, here was the Top 5 in chips:

1 Lyle Berman $153,300
2 Loi Van Phan $122,500
3 Mark Seif $107,600
4 Thomas Fuller $103,200
5 Benjamin Kim $95,400

I arrived downstairs at the Sunset Ballroom fairly early where the tournament was being held and I ran into an unshaven Minneapolis Jim Meehan. He was in the middle of his usual breakfast, a half-smoked cigarette and he slowly sipped on a Heineken while he scanned the list of remaining players and chip counts. He was the severe shot stack and did not expect to last very long, especially since he had Chip Jett, David Benyamine, and Thomas Fuller at his table. Fuller ended Day 1B as one of the chipleaders. Unfortunately for Jim, he was one of the first players eliminated on Day 3.

John D'Agastino was an early casualty too. He busted when A-J lost to 4-4. Also knocked out early was Ted Forrest when his Q-J and lost a coin flip to 10-10. Johnny Bax, David Benyamine, Ricardo Festejo, and Dan Heimiller were also sent to the rail.

Day 3 in the Sunset Ballroom

Kathy Liebert made a rush early on with A-Q on two big hands. She doubled up against Ronnie Bardah when she cracked A-K with A-Q. She flopped a Queen and picked up $80K in chips. A few hands later, she found A-Q again. This time she eliminated Ronnie Bardah's A-J.

Lyle Berman lost the chip lead, but still maintained a big stack. Loi Phan emerged as the chip leader on Day 3. As the play reached the bubble and dinner break, plenty of other players were eliminated. Jeff Calkins was busted when his J-J ran into Q-Q. David Levi was knocked out when he ran into A-A. Jean Gaspard was sent to the rail when his 10-10 lost a race to A-K. Bernard Lee, Steve Zolotow, and Steve Brecher were all eliminated.

By mid-afternoon, Lenny Cortellino emerged as the chipleader with over $235K with Lyle Berman not too far behind. Paul McKinney, the oldest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet, had a short stack most of the day. He doubled up with A-J against A-K when he flopped a Jack and turned trips. He was playing at a table with plenty of players who were younger than his grandchildren.

John Myung was knocked out by Kathy Liebert. He was shortstacked and moved all in with A-8. Kathy called with 10-9 and flopped a 10 to send Myung to the rail. That was one tough table with Myung, Liebert, Bill Gazes, and Mark Seif all sitting right next to each other. When play reached the bubble, the room grew tense. Mark Seif cracked Aces with pocket Jacks when he rivered a straight against Matthew Szymaszek.

By the time the dinner break rolled around, 121 players still remained. As soon as the players returned from dinner, Chip Jett moved all in. He only had $300 which covered his ante. He had J-J but lost to Q-5. He went home as the "bubble boy" as the remaining 120 player breathed a sigh of relief for finishing into the money.

WPT Foxwoods Payouts (Top 120):
1st $2,142,000
2nd $1,035,000
3rd $759,000
4th $483,000
5th $345,000
6th $276,000
7th $207,000
8th $172,800
9th $138,000
10th $117,300
11th $103,500
12th $96,600
13th $89,700
14th $82,800
15th $75,900
16th $69,000
17th $62,100
18th $55,200
19th $48,300
20th $41,300
21-25 $34,500
26-30 $27,600
31-35 $20,700
36-40 $17,200
41-50 $14,000
51-70 $12,000
71-120 $11,000

After the money bubble, plenty of players went out quickly. Paul McKinney was eliminated in 113th place by Minh Nguyen when his 10-10 ran into Nguyen's A-A.

In one of the most decisive hands of the tournament, Kathy Liebert was knocked out by Bill Gazes. Kathy had A-K. Bill had K-K. There was a short stack who moved all in with A-Q. Kathy raised, and Bill Gazes re-raised. Kathy moved all in with A-K and Gazes called with K-K. Since the short stack had one of her outs, it didn't look good. Kathy's hand did not improve and she was eliminated in 108th place. Bill Gazes took over the chip lead and never looked back.

Without a doubt, the Hand of the Day had to be when Ilya Liviz who defended his blind with The Hammer! Alex Jacob raised on the button with 2-4o. The flop was 7-2-3. On the turn an 8 fell. Liviz bet and Jacob moved all in over the top. Liviz quickly called. Both player sheepishly showed their monsters... 7-2o vs. 4-2o. The river didn't help Jacob and Liviz doubled up winning a pot worth at least $160K. Behold the Hammer!

Bill Gazes emerged as one of the chipleaders on Day 3

Marsha Waggoner was eliminated in 95th place when her A-Q lost to Eugene Ji's K-K. Arnold Spee, Amir Vahedi, Farzad Bonyadi, Jack Disandro, and online qualifier Amanda Baker were also busted. Mark Seif was knocked out in 93rd place by Bill Gazes who added to his chip lead. He reached the half million mark.

The eliminations continued when Amir Vahedi, Farzad Bonyadi, Jack Disandro, online qualifier Amanda Baker, Bill Edler, Jason Zausmer, Spiro Mitrokostas were all knocked out. Joanne Liu had the disctinction of being the last female eliminated.

Bill Gazes lost the chip lead to Loi Phan but they both were well over $500K. At Gazes table were Lyle Berman and Young Phan, who got eliminated on a brutal beat by Samir Shakhtoor. Phan flopped a set with pocket twos on a board of J-8-2. There were two diamonds out there. Shakhtoor had 5d-6d and bet around $12.5K. Young Phan doubled his bet with a raise. Samir Shaktoor moved all in for all of his chips, around $300K. Phan quickly called. Shaktoor caught his flush on the turn and he eliminated Phan. Shaktoor's stack was just under $500K.

"I guess I'll go home and fuck my dog," Phan said matter of factly as he walked off after that vicious beat. That is, without a doubt, the quote of the tournament and gets my vote as Top 10 Poker Quotes of 2005.

Hasan Habib was busted when J-J ran into Steve Jacobs' pocket Kings. Minh Nguyen busted Steve Diamantes. Tom McCormick, Tom Coan, and Glyn 'Ratchet' Banks were also out as play reached Midnight. Bill Gazes and Samir Shaktoor shared the chiplead with about $600K each.

Just before the action ended for the night, Andy Black was eliminated in 36th place when his 3-3 ran into 10-10. Play stopped at 2 AM with 31 players remaining and Allen Cunningham one of the chip leaders. Action will resume at Noon on Wednesday and won't stop until there are 6 players left.

Pictures and a list of the money winners appear after the jump.

The WPT World Poker Finals concluded it's first round of play at Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut as Day 2 came to an end. Over 2/3 of the field has been eliminated and sitting at the front of the pack as one of the chip leaders is Lyle Berman, founder of the World Poker Tour. With 783 players buying into the $10,000 event, the field was so large this year that tournament organizers broke up the first round into two flights. The first was played on Monday and the second on Tuesday.

Andy Bloch's new clean shaven look

This year's World Poker Finals has over $7.8 million in prize money up for grabs. The top 120 players win prize money. Second place is guaranteed at least $1 million. First place wins $2.14 million and a $25,000 entry into the WPT Championships to be held at the Bellagio in April of 2006.

WPT Foxwoods World Poker Final Payout List: 1st: $2,142,000
2nd: $1,035,000
3rd: $759,000
4th: $483,000
5th: $345,000
6th: $276,000
7th: $207,000
8th: $172,800
9th: $138,000
10th: $117,300
11th: $103,500
12th: $96,600
13th: $89,700
14th: $82,800
15th: $75,900
16th: $69,000
17th: $62,100
18th: $55,200
19th: $48,300
20th: $41,300
21st-25th: $34,500
26th-30th: $27,600
31st-35th: $20,700
36th-40th: $17,200
41st-50th: $14,000
51st-70th: $12,000
71st-120th: $11,000

Last year's champion Tuan Le was eliminated early on Day 1. Some notable bustouts on the first day included: Liz Lieu, Mike Caro, Evelyn Ng, John Phan, Mike Gracz, Brad Daugherty, Lee Watkinson, Denis Ethier, Olga Varkonyi, Robert Varkonyi, Alan Goehring, Jim McManus, David Singer, Tony Ma, Brian Haveson, Amnon Filippi, Jean-Robert Bellande, Joe Sebok, Ted Lawson, Melissa Hayden, J.C. Tran, and Johnny World Hennigan.

Notable bustouts on Day 2 included: John Juanda, Greg Raymer, Chris Fargis, Paul Darden, Matt Matros, Syracuse Chris Tsiprailidis, Tim Pham, Nam Le, Carl Olsen, Clonie Gowen, Tex Barch, Victor Ramdin, Fabrice Soulier, Rich "The Quiet Lion" Brodie, Jason Lester, Vinny Vinh, Andy Bloch, Gavin Smith, David The Dragon Pham, Mark Gregorich, Tony Cousineau, Kenny Tan, Dewey Tomko, Pat Poehls, and Men The Master Nguyen.

Around 240 players survived the first round. That list included players such as: Lyle Berman, Mark Seif, Andrew Black, Allen Cunningham, Young Phan, Chris Karagulleyan, David Levi, Steve Zolotow, Arnold Spee, Steve Brecher, Julian Gardner, Kathy Liebert, David Benyamine, Farzad Bonyadi, Richardo Festejo, Donna Blevins, Amir Vahedi, Hasan Habib, Erik Seidel, Chip Jett, Minh Nguyen, Steve Zoine, Ted Forrest, John Myung, Jean "Prince" Gaspard, Dan Heimiller, Paul McKinney, Tab Duchateau, Marsha Waggoner, John D'Agostino, Johnny Bax, Bill Gazes, and Minneapolis Jim Meehan.

Players started with $10K in chips with 90 minute levels. John Juanda was one of the first players eliminated on Day 2. Juanda flopped a set of Jacks, but ran into a guy who flopped a set of aces. One of the biggest stories was Paul McKinney surviving the first round. He was the oldest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet earlier this year when he won the Senior's event. At 81, he's routinely beating out playrrs who are almost 1/4 his age.

The always entertaining Minneapolis Jim Mehan had a rollercoaster of a day. He was down to his last $600 in chips when he went on a run and built up his stack back to around $10K. But everyone is still talking about Lyle Berman's amazing first day. When the field combines on Day 3, he'll be one of the chip leaders along wiith Mark Seif, Loi Phan, and Amir Vahedi.

Here are some random photos from Day:

WSOP Senior's Champ Paul McKinney shows off his bracelet

Minneapolis Jim lamenting over his short stack

Did anyone proofread the logo?

You can visit the Tao of Poker where I live blogged Tuesday's action and will return on Wednesday for Day 3 of the World Poker Finals.

Complete the story with all the details on Dr. Pauly's Online Poker blog. Read his trademark play by play account of the final table.

The final table of the Borgata Open concluded today at the exquisite Borgata Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a special moment for me because I finally got to cover a World Poker Tour final table. After four days the field of 515 players was dwindled down to six players after a brutal 18 hour session to end Day 3. Last year's winner Daniel Negreanu was eliminated on the first day.

Here's who made the final table including chip counts:

Seat 1: Robert "Action Bob" Hwang (Clark, NJ) $1,795,000
Seat 2: David Singer (Mamaroneck, NY) $3,200,000
Seat 3: Al Ardebili (Jersey City, NJ) $1,425,000
Seat 4: Kathy Liebert (Las Vegas, NV) $1,045,000
Seat 5: John D'Agostino (Seymour, CT) $2,295,000
Seat 6: Richard Festejo (Margate, NJ) $540,000

Kathy Liebert has won one WSOP bracelet and made two WPT final tables (not including Ladies' Night). She's looking for her first WPT victory. More importantly, no female has ever won a regular WPT event. Also making the final table were pros John D'Agostino and David Singer. In 2003, David Singer made the final table in the main event at the WSOP and made one final table at this year's WSOP. Plus any table is going to be fun if you have a guy named Action Bob at it! Robert "Action Bob" Hwang from RGP fame had plenty of railbirds. Richard Festejo is the local favorite and lives in nearby Margate, New Jersey.

The prize pool was over $5 million. Here are the final table payouts:

1st: $1,498,650
2nd: $799,280
3rd: $427,115
4th: $349,685
5th: $299,730
6th: $249,775

John D'Agostino was involved in an early pot with Ricardo Festejo. D'Agostino raised and Festejo moved all in over the top. John reluctantly called with K-10. Ricardo Festejo showed A-K and led the entire way. An ace fell on the river and Festejo picked up a $1 million pot.

In the first hour, Kathy Liebert had two big hands, A-A and K-K, but no one paid her off.

David Singer flopped a set with 10-10. However, Ricardo Festejo had a straight and a flush draw on a board of 10d-Jd-3h-9h with Qh-Jh. Both players were all in. The river was an 8 and Ricardo Festejo doubled up again when he caught his straight. At the end of the first hour of play, John D'Agostino was the chip leader with over $ 2.2 million in chips. David Singer was not far behind with $2.1 and Kathy Liebert was the shortstack with $1 million.